The Waiting Game

Pray:  Humble yourself before God in prayer. Ask Him for wisdom and to help you see the wonderful things He has for your life before reading this section of the Bible.

Read: Daniel 12

Oh Prophecy… you’re hard to get. I’m coming in at the end of the book taking up the last part of a prophetic section. I’ll concentrate on three general observations on the text that center around the overall theme of the book.

  1. Bad stuff happens (12:1). Verse 1, as well as many references in the previous chapters, makes that clear. There will be very hard times.
  2. God is Sovereign (12:2-3, 12-13). God will reward the righteous and punish the wicked; justice will be done. Death will not hold back His purposes; He is the rescuer, redeemer, and ultimate reward of men.
  3. Daniel can be mysterious. There is an element of mystery in the Bible and with God that must remain this side of heaven and that we must be okay with.

These three observations can be applied to virtually everything in the book of Daniel. The narrative sections were generally descriptions of impossible situations where God’s people were about to be slaughtered, only finding their hope and redemption in God at the very climax of their trouble (in the furnace itself, in the lions’ den, or interpreting dreams under threat of death).

Likewise, the prophetic passages follow the same pattern; speaking of days where God’s people will be persecuted and killed for their faith, abominable men and demonic forces blaspheme and make war our holy God and His people – and again, the only possible source of hope or rescue is God Himself.

Reflection Questions:

  1. What are the reward of the righteous and the punishment of the wicked?
  2. Why do you think Daniel is told to keep these words “secret” (Vs. 4, 9) until “the end”?
  3. After receiving this vision, Daniel still doesn’t understand it and asks for further explanation (Vs. 8-13). What is the angel’s response to Daniel’s inquiry? What does this response suggest about our understanding prophecy in general?

Memorize: Daniel 12:2